Out of the loop: Is there a problem with nova launcher?
this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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It was acquired by an analytics company, so there are privacy concerns.
Looks like this happened a year ago and analytics can be opted out.
If you are still using Nova, make sure you go to Settings> Advanced > Disable "Error & usage reporting"
Not sure if that fixes anything...
I'll keep watching this post...I'm curious about recommendations. The default pixel launcher is...just garbage
Thanks for the warning, checked settings on all devices and corrected on some.
Time to look for a replacement I guess. The only thing I use is the icon size/grid settings.
Just don't allow to Nova app to connect to internet. It doesn't need network connection for its functionality. All apps on my phone which doesn't need network connection are blocked through AFWall+.
Or choose not to support companies that do this in any way
Yeah, although so far nothing has happened. It's one of those cases where we all thought it would immediately go to shit like QuickPic did, but oddly... that's not happening. Feels weird. This isn't how good software being bought up usually plays out!
It was acquired by an analytics company, so there are privacy concerns.
This one from last year? https://novalauncher.com/branch
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I just found Lawnchair. I'm going to try it out today. Thanks for letting me know of Nova's potential privacy concerns.
Edit: looks like Lawnchair has not been updated in 4 years. I will be trying Olauncher instead.
So lawnchair is still maintained here's their github
And if you want to try Olaucher try the clutter free version on fdroid
I did not check github, just the info on f-droid. I may try Lawnchair again.
I like the minimalist way of Olauncher, but I would like to see app icons on my home screen instead of just the names of the apps. In the few minutes of trying Olauncher I was not able to find a setting to switch to icons.
Now, I'm trying Kvaesitso. So far I like it. Again there are no icons on the home screen. There are no app names either. For some reason I like this better. I'm going to have to try and get used to swipping up to see my widgets and swipping down to get to the app drawer. This is reversed from what I'm used to.
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They released a more recent Lawnchair 2 last year.
https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/app.lawnchair
The repository is updated I think, but the release apk is already a year ago.
Ive been using lawnchair since they sold out, its not perfect but it gets the job done
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I have been concerned about this but every launcher alternative I have tried is always missing at least one function I use a lot.
I am on graphene and have nova launcher locked down so it has access to absolutely nothing, should I still be worried?
Not at all, in fact so far they've changed nothing even in the new beta. Keep an eye on it, but while they bought the launcher, they're not doing anything with it except fund development a bit and get some of the purchase money it seems.
Nice. Appreciate the clarification, I didn't think it would be an issue with everything revoked in graphene but it's nice to get another opinion xD
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I switched from nova to niagara and I love it. It is very different, but if you give it a shot for a few days you might just fall in love too.
I did the same and fell in love too. Niagara is the best!
Agreed. I've been using it for years now, and it just feels like what a launcher should be. I'm surprised it's not been adopted as the default, or even an available mode, since it's so intuitive.
Niagara Launcher is great. I used to use Nova, but found myself only using one home screen page and only like one widget. Niagara does take some getting used to, but I also suggest giving it a try.
I can echo this. I used Nova for close to a decade, and everybody talked about Niagara so I tried it a couple of times but it didn't stick. I guess it took three tries for me, because I realized that the one-handed navigation for any app, the ability to easily find things alphabetically, and the fact that I could have my home screen apps pinned to the top of the list all make it way cleaner
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Once you figure out how Niagara works and all the little shortcuts you have available, the workflow is so quick and easy to use.
I've tried going back to default launchers and they just feel bloated and disorganized by comparison
I've really enjoyed Smart Launcher. Customization flexibility is on-par or better than Nova, and I really enjoy their app tray
Does it have gesture shortcuts? Like two finger swipe down opens Y app and 2 finger swipe up opens Z?
Yeah, proper customization for one and two finger swipes in each of the four directions
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I've been using smart launcher for I don't even know now. A decade. It's great.
I tried a handful, but keep going back to Action Launcher
Action Launcher had lots of the good stuff Nova ~~has~~ had first, anyway. Heartily recommend. Tbf as long as the launcher has covers/smart folders/whatever they're called then I'm happy
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Neo Launcher is the closest to Nova I used, but its feel like a work in progress
+1 for Neo Launcher!
Highly recommend Kvaesitso!!
Kvaesitso is a search focused, free and open source launcher for Android. -> https://github.com/MM2-0/Kvaesitso
Agree, it's not particularly customizable, but I've been using it for a week now, and it's been the launcher I've been looking for.
Only issue I've had with it is that sometimes, the web search tries to search as if the query was a domain and not a question. Though that's not a deal breaker.
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Unusual advice:
I use Jina app drawer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobeedom.android.jinaFS&hl=en_US&gl=US
It allows you to swipe up from the home button and access a selected grid of apps, and quickly search for any installed apps.
Lets me keep my homescreen pristine, and only display art/widgets.
So it really doesn't matter what my launcher is.
Just added to pixel 6, but I can't get the gesture to work.
are you using gestures?
I suspect that might cause a conflict.
I use the 3 button nav on my phone.
Like really, I tried every launcher, but Nova is the best, and I actually used the Prime Hack 7.x not updated since forever.
Make sure to block internet access. If your OS cant do that, maybe switch devices.
Nova has a monopoly on quality, nothing even comes half close.
However, a decent FOSS launcher is Lawnchair, use the latest builds from github actions, it works fairly well and can allow for basic home screen customization, folder customization and custom icons
What's Prime hack?
I bought Nova Launcher Pro and used to happily donate to them because there really was nothing else that could compare.
It sucks that Branch bought them, and why I stick with the Stock Google launcher now.
Does the Prime hack give you Nova Launcher again without anything going back to Branch?
It just unlocks pro haha. On GrapheneOS I just block internet permission for the app.
I'm using Hyperion now. I don't know if it's any better in terms of privacy. I would love to hear people's thoughts.
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ADW Launcher
I want to switch to this, myself, but haven't found the energy to do the effort.
I've given Neo a shot. Hasn't got as many features sadly. The main one I miss is infinite scroll through home screens.
Hyperion is what I use and think it's really close to Nova.
This is probably unpopular, but I keep coming back to Microsoft launcher. The slide out drawer on the bottom is something I have gotten too used to.
I'm building one right now, which key features/ new feature would you all like to see in a launcher?
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